A 41-year-old murderer from Los Angeles County was killed in a fight with another inmate at Kern Valley State Prison, officials said Sunday, July 12.
Sergio Villalobos, who came to the Kern County facility on Aug. 18, 2014, after he was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first- degree murder, was killed on Saturday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
At about 10:20 a.m. Saturday, prison staff “saw two incarcerated people fighting in their cell. Staff sounded an alarm and ordered Jovanny Mendez and Sergio Villalobos to get down. Mendez failed to comply and staff used pepper spray to quell the attack,” according to a CDCR statement. “Officers activated 911 and staff continued life-saving measures on Villalobos as they transferred him to the prison’s triage and treatment area. Subsequently, medical officials pronounced Villalobos deceased at 10:55 a.m.
“Mendez was restrained, removed from the cell and remains in restricted housing pending an investigation by the KVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office,” the statement continued.
Authorities added that two “manufactured” weapons were found at the scene.
Mendez, 39, was most recently received from Orange County on May 24, 2017. He was sentenced to 14 years for assault with a firearm and a use of firearm enhancement, according to the CDCR.